Anyone that is “into” fire protection has seen the videos of the airplane hanger foam systems discharging. They are quite amazing to watch; however, now we have a fatality as a result of a discharge. Results are sketchy right now and investigators are trying to determine what caused the tragic incident that killed one man and injured three other people in King Hangar on Wednesday (1/8/14). The worker, a 31-year-old contractor, died after a large amount of fire-fighting foam was released into the hangar. He had worked as a contractor at Eglin Air Force Base since 2006.
Watch a video of the fire-suppression system in action. The victim and the three people who were injured were working for defense contractor that provides equipment and facilities support for the Department of Defense. He was working as a tools-and-parts attendant. The fire suppression system in the 90,000-square-foot maintenance hangar has 24 foam generators that hang from the ceiling. After the accident, the hangar was filled with foam. A similar incident in King Hangar in 2012 resulted in foam 10 to 12 feet deep. No one was hurt. On Thursday, investigators still had not been definitively determined what caused the foam to release. The Airforce declined to say whether the release was intentional or accidental. Investigators also had not determined if the unusually cold weather was a factor. The cause of the contractor’s death has not been released. The three injured contractors were treated for inhalation problems and released shortly after the incident. A member of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Jacksonville was at Eglin on Thursday. Warning signs about the foam are supposed to be placed in hangars on the base. “We will definitely be looking into what warnings were there, what type of notification they had and what training they had at that site”. Eglin officials described the foam as similar to soap or dish detergent, but have not released the name of the substance. Two operational F-15s were in the hangar when the foam was released, as were a non-operational F-15, F-16 and A-10 used for educational purposes, according to Eglin. The base has not said whether the aircraft were damaged. The OSHA office never has investigated a death like Wednesday’s. “We may have to go to the manufacturer to find out how the system works,” he said. He said the investigation could take up to six months.